Social and Emotional Education in VET

<< Background >>The SEE-VET project was initiated during the pandemic to address critical gaps in vocational education and training (VET). The pandemic unfairly affected disadvantaged students, creating a pressing need for teachers to develop social-emotional skills to better support them. Social-emotional education (SEE) became essential for fostering resilience, empathy, and self-awareness in education.This need not only persisted but grew during the project. Global crises like the war in Ukraine added new challenges for students and educators, reinforcing the importance of SEE. Research confirms that these skills remain vital as societal changes continually influence education systems. Teachers must understand and support their students effectively in an evolving world.This relevance is supported by the “Education and Training Monitor 2024” by the European Commission, which emphasizes the growing demand for transversal skills like resilience and emotional intelligence. During SEE-VET 49 focus group participants helped refine the methodology, and the piloting phase directly engaged 30 VET professionals. By addressing both immediate and long-term challenges, SEE-VET has a high potential for sustainable impact aligned with European priorities<< Objectives >>The SEE-VET project aimed to achieve three key objectives:1. Support VET students by equipping their trainers with tools to successfully engage with students, influenced by societal challenges like, for example, pandemic or war, so they can complete their training.2. Empower teachers to better understand and support students by enhancing own social-emotional skills.3. Make VET education more responsive and flexible by aligning it with current social processes.These objectives were aimed to be pursued through the development of practical social and emotional education (SEE) online course with hands-on tools for VET trainers to integrate SEE into their teaching process. This aligns with the SEE-VET project’s application and reflects its broader mission: to build inclusive, adaptable VET systems that prepare teachers and students for the complexities of quickly changing modern society.<< Implementation >>The SEE-VET project carried out all planned activities in line with the objective of supporting teachers and improving SEE in VET as well as had additional activity. We began with two focus groups involving 49 participants across five partner countries, gathering insights into challenges and best practices. This feedback shaped the development of SEE training course with 5 modules, piloted with 30 VET educators to ensure its practical application and relevance to real-world challenges.The repository includes best practices, tools, and strategies to help teachers support students effectively. Dissemination activities included 2 multiplier events, Sweden - 60 participants, Italy - 60 participants, social media campaigns in 5 countries reaching app 5000 people, and 4 newsletters published to share project outcomes and raise awareness about SEE in education. Additionally, we linked SEE training to ESCO database to issue formal micro credentials to VET trainers, to formalise SEE in VET according to strong recommendation from target group in focus groups. Finally, we conducted regular internal quality checks and gathered participant feedback to refine the tools, ensuring they aligned with project goals. << Results >>The project delivered both tangible and intangible results that have a potential for visible impact in VET in partner counties:Tangible:• Developed a interactive online SEE training with 5 modules, piloted by 30 VET teachers and trainers. It is available in 5 languages in free access.• Connected the above SEE training to ESCO database to be able to issue formal EU certificate with micro credentials to VET trainers who complete 2/3 of the training.• Engaged 49 focus group participants and reached 120 stakeholders through multiplier events.• Disseminated SEE-VET resources via social media, reaching directly 5000, and published 4 newsletters to share project outcomes to reach another 1000. Project website attracts 100 visitors monthly.Intangible:• Strengthened the capacity of VET teachers to address students’ social-emotional needs, as reflected in positive feedback from pilot participants.• Improved the quality of SEE in VET institutions by making it more accessible and responsive to real-world challenges.• Enhanced the confidence of teachers by practical concrete integration of SEE practices into their daily work.• Fostered collaboration and knowledge-sharing among VET stakeholders in 5 EU countries.